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| NEWS > 21 October 2007 |
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No mercy to criminals or corru
African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Jacob Zuma, himself facing corruption charges, has promised he would be tougher on crime and corruption if he becomes SA President.
Zuma said that the country needed better implementation of anti-crime policies and greater pay for police officers to tackle crime.
He was speaking to the 1926 Club at the Rand Club in Johannesburg.
Zuma said punishment of police officers should also be harsher than that of ordinary citizens to discourage police corruption.
And in a country without the death penalty, the ... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Bangkok Post - Thailand
21 October 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Thailand: POLICE MAKEOVER
Reforming bureaucracy is never a simple task, but it requires even more sophistication when the organisation under renovation has the power and influence of the national police force, writes SUPARA JANCHITFAH
'I hope the new police reform bill will benefit non-commissioned officers like me," said a policeman from Chiang Mai recently. The career policeman, who wished to remain anonymous, then charged that cops like him had to collect extortion money and deliver it to the higher-ups, otherwise their chances of promotion are "very slim". He added that most officers wish to work within the due process of law, but they are often forced by the prevailing environment into malfeasance.
People who work day in and day out with law enforcement officers - doctors, lawyers, reporters, etc - all over Thailand will tell you that many police officers are dedicated men and women who are committed to doing their duty to serve the public.
However, the perceptions of the majority of the Thai public centre predominantly on the bad apples in the police force, and there is no denying that police misconduct - such as the use of excessive force, and even torture, and bribery - is nothing new in Thailand (see related story).
On October 13, more than 40,000 policemen who participated in the National Police Day ceremony at Rajamangala stadium on Ramkhamhaeng road vowed to create a good image of the police force. But what are the steps they can take to achieve such a goal? Certainly the oath they took that Saturday is a step in the right direction, but when they go back to their respective 1,450 police stations nationwide, will they be able to keep this resolve in their day-to-day operations? After all, they are doing a very difficult job amidst a negative working environment and endless temptations.
In a number of surveys, members of the public have expressed the belief that accountability is lacking in the police force.
On November 13, 2006, soon after Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont's government took over power from Thaksin Shinawatra, himself a former police lieutenant, a 28-person committee was appointed to draft legislation on police reform.
All the while, the reform process has faced considerable opposition, mainly from former and present police officials.
From the start of his term as interim PM, Gen Surayud has insisted on the need to bring about radical changes to the police force, especially in regard to the human rights of suspects. He continues to list police reform as one of his top priorities. In a speech before assembled reporters on Reporters Day (March 5), he said: "In the past, some police officers have unlawfully exercised their power, leading to human rights violations. Such unethical conduct was all too common during the drug suppression drive four years ago. The unrest in the three southernmost provinces is also an offshoot of this problem, which has prevailed in our country for 30 to 40 years.
"Moreover, the police have often served people in power rather than members of the general public, which is what they are supposed to do. This always caused problems. I'll try to put an end to the police habit of serving people in power and make them work harder in serving the people."
During the drafting process the committee, comprised of police officers, academics and officials from various agencies in the justice system, organised many public seminars and hearings to allow all concerned parties to give their input into the legislation.
After a few months of research and public input, on March 30, 2007 the committee proposed two separate bills. The first is the National Police Bill (NP), which is mainly concerned with amending a number of parts of the 2004 National Police Act, which was itself drafted as a mechanism to restructure the police force. The amendments include giving nine regional police commanders more power.
The other bill set up an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which as the name implies was meant to be an independent agency for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police officers.
The two bills were approved by the cabinet on July 3, 2007 before being sent on to the Council of State (COS) for vetting. The NP bill has gotten approval from the COS, but it was decided to merge some parts of the IPCC proposal into the NP bill.
Pol Gen Wasit Dejkunjorn, the police reform committee chairman, said that even though the IPCC was not kept intact he was pleased with the acceptance of the NP bill.
"During the scrutiny processes by the COS, many former police chiefs and present ranking officials were in on the process. I think they have big hearts to accept some changes from the reform bills," he said.
"Some had a lot of criticisms of the draft bills, but they had many chances to present their views to the COS as well," he added.
In the last two weeks, the COS has sent the revised draft bill back to the cabinet, and if it gets final approval it will be submitted to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to be passed into law.
Big changes
Pol Gen Wasit says it is impressive the way the NP bill was written with the viewpoints of the police community, academics and people from all walks of life in mind. On some crucial points he thinks the new bill makes some "marvellous" big changes. For example, the power of the Police Commissioner will be reduced, but not to the extent that some people are saying (see box). The de-centralisation of the national police force should bring about more efficient and fair law enforcement.
The former deputy police chief said the bill is successful in reducing the number of rankings or job titles of the non-commissioned officials, those who did not attend Police Cadet Academy School, who make up the majority of the police force nationwide.
Originally the bill proposed only one ranking - Police Senior Sergeant Major - above the entry level ranking of Police Constable, but the COS included the rank of Police Sergeant between the two.
The reason to reduce the number of ranks for non-commissioned officers, said Pol Gen Wasit, is that they will be able to get significant upgrades faster, either by further training or pursuing higher education after they have been on the force for a period of time. Intensive skill training should be provided, for example in interrogation and investigation.
"This will help them perform their duties more efficiently and professionally," said Wasit, adding that enhancing skill levels would mean that resorting to violence, for example to obtain a confession, should be much less common.
Perhaps the biggest change provided for in the bill is in the salaries and incentives of police officers. They will receive a 15 percent increase across the board.
Police officers generally feel that their salaries are low, although a newly graduated cadet's salary is 7,940 baht a month after a cost of living raise in October this year, equal to that of other civil servants who have finished a Bachelor degree. This does not include the 15 percent increase. At the present time a non-commissioned police sergeant earns around 6, 648 baht a month.
Dr Kittipong Kittiyarak, the secretary of the reform committee, noted that in Japan, for example, policemen get 15 percent higher salary compared to other civil servants.
The cost of the 15 percent increase in the salaries of the 139,345 non-commissioned officers to the national budget will be 367.20 million baht a month, or 4,406.506 million baht a year.
The 15 percent increase also applies to the police force's 8,075 interrogative officials, who play a very crucial role in the justice system.
"The interrogation is the initial stage of the justice system. These officers should obtain an income close to that of those who work at the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)," added Kittipong.
Pol Gen Wasit says the aim is for police officers to make a decent living without having to resort to corrupt practices. He remarked that he has consulted with the concerned agencies, and they agree that the government has enough money to pay for the salary increases.
Standardise
performance Some were disappointed that all provisions for the IPCC were not kept, but Pol Gen Wasit remains optimistic. "Even though we weren't successful in pushing the IPCC as a separate bill, the COS and vetting committee adapted many articles from our proposed draft bill into the new NP bill. It is much better than not having it at all," he said.
Dr Kittipong said that overall the new bill is aimed at boosting police morale.
"We want to prevent the unfair transfer and standardise police performance, as they are part of the justice system," he said.
Dr Kittipong said that the majority of the police establishment agrees with the bill in general, including the parts on the IPCC. However, the COS suggested that the new 2007 Constitution already has many articles regarding the conduct of all government officials such as article 244, in which ombudsmen are empowered to proceed with the prosecution of any government official who breaches professional ethics, and are also empowered to examine the work of other organisations established under the constitution and organisations related to the justice system.
Dr Kittipong said the the IPCC will work in parallel with the existing police inspectors, and the promotion of police internal audits will be continued.
Though it has lost the status of complete independence, under the existing framework the IPCC does have some non-police members to sit on the commission. This has reassured the general public about the existence of checks and balances, but made some law enforcement officials feel uncomfortable. Dr Kittipong noted that the chairman and the secretary of the commission are still police officers.
"I think presently most police understand the reform plan and the IPCC. This is due to the fact that the bill provides for a merit-based system as opposed to a patronage system," he said.
He said the government bills would improve efficiency because police would work simultaneously with public prosecutors and the courts.
In a nutshell, the reform bill highlights the need to restructure the present police organisation to make individuals more accountable, reduce complicated lines of command, create checks-and-balance mechanisms and involve the public more in its work.
The committee believes that in order to achieve all of this it will be necessary to decentralise power in the force. Under the reformed structure, local police would be able to manage their budgets and transfer of officials without having to request approval from the National Police Office.
Most members of the drafting committee believe that the new police structure should be able to prevent interference from politicians in matters such as police reshuffles.
Other urgent issues in the reform plan are to enlist more public participation and to set up an independent agency to improve and develop the police force to be in line with due process and rule of law.
Committee members say that during the transition period the restructuring could be initiated from local police stations, with the participation of local community groups. Community policing is a key concept of the reform plans, aiming at more cooperation between police and locals to help control crime.
Most importantly, radical changes must be made at the structural level. "This is a good opportunity to implement reforms because all concerned agencies have a mutual understanding about the goals.
"We all want the best for the people," he said.
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